


Found the place to rest my head

by nanasekei



Series: Happy Steve Bingo Fills [21]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt Steve Rogers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Protective Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 01:08:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16776589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanasekei/pseuds/nanasekei
Summary: There was blood in the corner of Steve’s mouth.





	Found the place to rest my head

**Author's Note:**

> For my "Log Cabins and Camping Trips" square on the Happy Steve Bingo. Thanks to Sheron for the beta and suggestions! <3

There was blood in the corner of Steve’s mouth.

They were safe there, Tony knew. The cabin had been a blessing, a safe haven where Tony could get Steve away from the fight. On the comms, Tony could hear the battle continuing, but the team had gained the upper hand, and it would probably be over soon.

Tony clenched his fists as the armor slipped off his body. He instantly missed the comforting weight around his shoulders. There was no reason to keep it on, though, he thought as he took one last look around the inside of the cabin. The place had a homey feel, but it seemed abandoned, a smell of dust filling the air. The couch on the living room was dirty and old, and Tony could tell from a glance the TV was long broken. It felt like this had probably been someone’s vacation cabin, many years ago. Empty and isolated, it was unlikely any Hydra agents would find it, even if they managed to look for them.

Still.

Blood. On Steve’s mouth.

Tony shivered, turning towards the man lying on the floor before him. Steve had insisted on walking by himself the moment they landed, dropping right next to the foot of the couch, resting his back against it as he visibly struggled to sit up. Now, he was just staring forward, jaw clenching as he listened to the comm’s sounds of the battle with as much attention as if he was actually in the middle of the fight.

He looked so goddamn tired, Tony thought. It was to expect he’d want something to be done about the injury – Tony had tried to call a medical team, but Steve had stubbornly insisted the serum would take of everything, and, if Tony wanted to call doctors, he should send them to meet the rest of the team after the battle was done. Tony tried to insist, but Steve just gave him his best Captain look, firm as stone, as if a big wound on his chest was nothing to worry about.

Tony tried to not stare at the cut. He tried and failed.

It was a superficial wound, he reminded himself, as he saw the big, bloody strips on Steve’s chest. Still, those freaky claws had gone right through the uniform’s fabric as if it were butter. The blow managed to make Steve lose his balance and fail to avoid a punch that had definitely, from the sprinkles of blood on his bottom lip, made him bit his tongue.

Tony kept telling himself Steve would be fine, he was safe now, the serum was already working to fix it, but he had a feeling if he closed his eyes the only thing he could see was Steve’s scared face as the cutting metal hit his skin. _Poisonous_ metal, as if that wasn’t enough.

Clint’s arrows had hit the agent right afterwards. But if he hadn’t… If anything had gone differently, and he _hadn’t_ …

“You should go back to battle,” Steve said, and Tony realized he had been staring. “I’m fine.”

Tony let out a nervous, shocked laugh. “Yeah, and my name is Natasha Romanoff.”

Steve scowled at him, falling into a disapproving silence, and Tony almost wished he actually _were_ Natasha, because Natasha would know what to say, would know how to reach out to Steve without upsetting him.

Hell, Tony was just the worst person to keep Steve company, in these circumstances. Literally anyone else, from Rhodey to Natasha to Sam to Thor to even the _Hulk,_ would have an easier time getting Steve to relax and allow his body to heal at his own pace. Tony didn’t even know what he was doing there.

The fact that he had been the one to immediately fly to Steve’s side to check on him and take him out of danger, forgetting completely about the battle in itself, was irrelevant.

Tony shifted, uncomfortable. On the floor, Steve seemed to pay attention to something on the comm, pressing it closer to his ear.

“Cap, you should turn that off.”

Steve’s blue eyes looked at Tony as if he had insulted him. “I can still know what is going on.”

“But you can’t give orders without seeing the field,” Tony argued, a little desperate.

Steve opened his mouth to say something, and Tony was in the middle of thinking _God, what a stubborn son of a—_ when Steve winced, and in a second there Tony was, kneeling in front of him, hands hovering over him. “Hey, hey, what is it? Cap? Talk to me.”

Steve struggled to answer, and Tony’s hands lightly touched his shoulders, useless but unable to do nothing anymore. “I’m—“

“Jesus fucking Christ, don’t say you’re fine,” Tony blurted, and Steve’s mouth curled in a pained smile. “Just—Just tell me what to do. Can I get anything? You should get some water, I’m gonna…”

“It’s the serum,” Steve said, and he sounded gentler than before, blue eyes looking at Tony’s obviously worried face with a certain surprise. “It, it really is fine. Means it’s working.”

Tony bit the inside of his cheek. As a scientist, he knew Steve was probably right – the serum was already working to get Steve’s body back into shape, ignoring Steve’s nerves to pull his skin and tissue back together and expel the poison in record time.

All that blood, though. All over Steve’s chest, sprinkling over his face and neck, drops of red over his pale, pale skin. Steve would heal, sure, Tony knew that, but the corner of his brain that never really stopped working was calculating all the different possibilities, all the other outcomes of the attack, and Tony was stuck, just _stuck_ on the fact that if Clint had been even a few seconds late, if he hadn’t…

Tony swallowed.

“Are you sure?” he asked, eyes searching Steve’s face. “Nothing I can do?”

_Please, please, give me something I can do for you. Anything._

Steve’s face visibly softened some more. “It’s always like this,” he said, and he might as well have ripped through Tony’s chest himself, because the quiet resignation in his voice tore Tony’s heart to pieces.

“Let me get you some water,” Tony said and, not waiting for Steve to answer, he got to his feet and practically ran towards the kitchen. He wasn’t even sure the water faucet would work, but he desperately needed to do something to at least distract Steve from the pain.

He found a glass in one of cupboards and, mercifully, when he turned on the sink, water came out to fill it. He faintly wondered if maybe he should search the place for some analgesics, but he knew that, even on the off chance he could find one, it wouldn’t have any effect on Steve.

Tony sighed and pinched his nose before going back to the living room. Jesus, as soon as he could, he was gonna make Steve an _ironclad_ suit. An armor, if Steve let him.

“Here”, Tony said, sitting next to Steve. He seemed mostly controlled, taking deep breaths, and after a moment of awkwardly offering him the glass, Tony decided to take it to Steve's lips, carefully giving him a sip.

For someone who claimed to not need anything, Steve sure drank up fast. When he finished, Tony went to kitchen and searched for a jar, filling it with water and coming back to get Steve to keep drinking.

“Are you trying to hydrate me out of the poison?” Steve asked with that same pained smile.

Tony’s grin was probably too fond, too revealing, but right now he was too focused on Steve’s comfort to care. “Yeah, that’s the plan,” he said, taking the glass again to Steve’s lips.

Halfway through a sip, Steve winced, coughing a little. His body curled forward, and, in a reflex, Tony’s hand went to the back of his neck.

“Deep breaths,” Tony said, trying to keep his grip firm but gentle. He half expected Steve to push him away, but he didn’t, so Tony guessed he could press his luck, wrapping an arm around Steve’s waist, hoping he could get him to at least lie on the couch.

“Stand up, soldier,” he whispered at Steve’s ear. To his surprise, Steve came along, allowing Tony to help him up. He was heavy, and Tony struggled a little to keep him up, very careful to not touch his wound by accident as he maneuvered Steve onto the couch. Steve let himself be guided, going boneless when he sat down.

Tony kept his arm around him.He should let Steve go now, since there wasn’t an excuse to touch him anymore, but he felt Steve’s body relaxed and pliant in his arms, and he didn’t want to risk pulling him out of that state, so.

When Steve slumped down, Tony pulled him closer, and if that ended up with Steve’s head on his lap, well.

Those things happened.

“Everything okay?” Tony asked, watching as Steve closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, tension leaving his shoulders a little. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah,” Steve whispered, his voice weak and soft, and Tony felt a wave of affection so strong it was a true feat he didn’t kiss him right then and there. “You’re very warm,” he said, almost as if he was thinking out loud, a slight flush spreading over his face when he realized what he said.

Tony took his hands to Steve’s head again. He ran his fingers through Steve’s hair, lightly massaging his scalp.

For a moment, Steve seemed to relax, but then his body shuddered with pain, and he grabbed onto the couch’s cushion strongly, fingers ripping through it.

“Go ahead, Cap, it’s an ugly couch anyway,” Tony whispered frantically as Steve groaned and lay an arm above him, grabbing (and definitely breaking) the couch’s armrest. “Whoever owns it will thank you when you’re done—I’ll buy them a much better one.”

Steve let out a small laugh, body slowly relaxing as the wave of pain passed, and he opened his blue eyes to stare at Tony. “You know, you don’t have to do this.”

“Hey, hey,” Tony whispered, not recognizing his own voice, way softer and fonder than he’d usually be comfortable with. “Relax, okay? I’ll do what I want to do, as always, and you focus on important things, like destroying this ugly couch.” That got him another small laugh, and Tony could feel his heart fluttering on his chest. He ran his knuckles over Steve’s cheek, cupping his face. “I got you,” he said, loaded with every possible meaning of the word. “I got you, okay?”

Steve’s smile was small but honest. “Okay,” he whispered. “You got me.”

Tony reached down and wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! As always, comments and kudos warm my heart and keep me writing. Also, if you want to, you can [reblog the fic here](http://elcorhamletlive.tumblr.com/post/180603304100/found-the-place-to-rest-my-head-nanasekei).


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